PLACERVILLE, CA (1-19-13) - Over 150 people packed into the American Legion Hall in Placerville Saturday night for Placerville Speedway's Championship Awards Dinner. This event honored the top finishing drivers of the 2012 racing season in Placerville Speedway's Red Hawk Casino Championship Series as well as the top drivers in the traveling Hoosier Racing Tires Civil War Sprint Car Series.

After the cancellation of last year's banquet due to a troubled economy and a lack of available facilities, the return of this annual gathering was welcomed by the members of the American Legion as well as the many drivers and their families that were in attendance. Following a great dinner catered by the Placerville Brewing Company, the awards ceremony began and quickly became a night with many tears, many cheers and will be an evening that everyone in the local racing community will long remember.

Auburn's Andy Forsberg was crowned as the 2012 Placerville Speedway and Civil War Series Champion. Forsberg was joined on the stage by fellow Champions Matt Micheli of Live Oak who won the title in the Limited Late Model Division and Orangevale's Matt Tilford the new Pure Stock Champion.

By far one of the most emotional portions of the awards dinner was the tribute to fallen racer Stephen Allard of Cameron Park. Last year, Allard rocked the community and dominated the headlines in El Dorado County as he teamed with local car owners Scott Russell and Kami Arnold to make a run at the season title. Allard's efforts were the talk off the town and he finished a close second to multi-time champion Andy Forsberg. Allard passed away just weeks ago and Saturday night the tight knit racing community honored him well for his efforts.

Allard's second place accolades were accepted by his wife, Loveleen Allard, his close friend Lee Lindgren and his car owners. Emcee Bill Sullivan spoke on Allard's success during the season and then passed the microphone to Russell and Lindgren who shared their testimony for their fallen friend, a lasting tribute that brought everyone to tears and to their feet to show their true support.

Before the segment was over, laughter followed the many tears when Russell was presented with a bridesmaid dress by fellow car owner Bob Sweeney. For the last three years Russell has finished in second place and referred to as a bridesmaid to the championship. The act quickly lightened the mood and Russell played along as he announced he would return to the driver's seat of his own car in 2013.

"You can always count on Sweeney to swing the mood at any party. This banquet truly brought the racing community together and illustrated how we are all one big family, doing what we love every summer," said Sullivan. "After Saturday night, it's evident that all of us are ready to come back in 2013 for another great year at the place we call home."

Throughout the night, many drivers spoke about Allard in their acceptance speech. Champions talked about his competitive nature while rookies explained how he was a driver that took them "under his wing" to mentor them in their first year of racing.

"This is a season I will never forget racing with Stephen, " said Andy Forsberg. "The guy was an amazing driver and an amazing friend. He could put a rear wheel into you and push you out of the way and when you got out of the car you just couldn't be angry at him. He made this championship very special for us this season."

In addition to the champions and top finishing drivers, several special awards including the Rookie of the Year Titles were honored in each of the respective divisions. This award goes out the driver that finishes highest in the point standings and is a newcomer to the division each year. The chase for the Rookie of the Year is just as popular as that of the championship.

In the Placerville Speedway Sprint Car division, Matt Peterson of Wilton was named the Rookie of the Year. The Civil War Series Rookie Title went to Koen Shaw of Fresno. The Pure Stock Rookie title was claimed by Chris McGinnis of Citrus Heights while the Late Model Rookie award went to former Pure Stock Champion Tom Tilford of Citrus Heights.

Tilford remained on the stage after accepting his Rookie of the Year Award to present the Motorsports Ambassador Award. This annual award is presented by the drivers to an individual that goes out of their way to help the sport flourish with the fans and the community. This year, the honor went to Placerville Speedway flagman Ed Entz, known for his crowd interaction at the place where he is often called "the dancing flagman." Entz was humbled by the award and even shared a few new dancing moves after thanking the drivers.

At the conclusion of the night, Alan Handy took the microphone and made a heartfelt presentation to all of the drivers, fans, staff and family members that support Placerville Speedway. He thanked everyone for their continued support of the track and sport as well as the great friendship they bring along with that support and added how excited he is for the year to come. "I can not wait until April 6, " said Handy. "I'm really excited about the 2013 season and thank everyone for their support because without all of you, we wouldn't have any of this."

The evening concluded with music and dancing Saturday night. Once the crowds had all left and the American Legion Hall was nearly empty there was one particular individual that Handy took notice and offered a special thank you.

"When all was said and done, all the people were thanks and the awards given away amidst all the fun there was one person that was probably not noticed by all," said Handy. "She did most everything Saturday night from setting the placemats for dinner, blowing up balloons, arranging the awards and raffle prizes and helping Bill Sullivan on the microphone. She's 12 years old and it's Kara Wilson. When you need something done and you can't find someone to do it, you can always count on Kara. You can catch Kara at the track hanging out on race nights helping at the outside soda and water on the hot summer nights, helping in the t-shirt booth or just about anything you need. She loves the racing at the speedway and will usually greet you with a big heart and a big smile. This comes from her Uncle Al, I am truly proud to have this young lady on our team."

The 2013 racing season begins at Placerville Speedway on Saturday April 6 with the Red Hawk Casino-Hoosier Racing Tires Championship series. For a complete schedule of the year to come visit www.placervillespeedway.com. Season passes will be going on sale soon with information being released on the track website.